One Shots Of Mike, Mal and company
by I heart the Hitachiin twins
Summary: Series of one shots about Mike and the others, no reset button. WARNING! Mentions of murder and mental issues. Includes an alternative ending. No slash because the friends zoñe is so much fun! Content is better than the summary.
1. Redemption

**Authors note, the reset button never happened.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TDAS**

1\. Redemption

As they trekked across the mind scape, Mike was trying to ignore Chester's complaining. Svetlana had pressed ahead with Manitoba and Vito, leaving him to carry the elderly persona. There was one question pressing on his mind throughout this whole ordeal. Why? Why was Mal suddenly so malevolent and terrifying? The other personalities weren't around when Mal had first showed up. He had only been four and Mal was the friend and brother he had desperately needed. When his mom had died and his dad had began acting strangely, Mal had been there. Mal had been there the first time his dad had locked the house for the night before he had got home from college. Mal had been there the first time his dad left for weeks on end without so much as a goodbye. Mal had been there the first time his dad had said "Sorry kid, you got me confused with someone else. I ain't got no son."

Mal had always been mischievous. Something of a prankster, but so strong it was almost scary. Driven and protective, almost territorial. He had protected Mike from the bullies and comforted him at night. So what had changed? He had a feeling he knew the answer...

They reached the tower and Manny tried the door. Unsurprisingly it was locked. He wondered... "Flaming rabbits!" He called! The others gave him what was very much a WTF look, much to pretty much everyone's surprise the door swung open. Huh, who knew Mal was nostalgic?

_xXFlashbackXx_

"This is an awesome playroom!" Six year old Mike cried happily. "Glad you like it." Mal replied, his voice was deeper than Mike's, even then. "But it's not a playroom, it's a secret base! And it needs a password."

"Okay! How 'bout... Flaming rabbits!"

"What?"

"Flaming rabbits."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"... Fair enough. Flaming rabbits it is."

Mal laughed and walked over to the door to set the password, it soon became a private joke and soon enough every password they ever had was the same.

_xX End of flashback Xx_

"How'd ya know tha' was gonna work mate?" Manitoba asked. "Errr, lucky guess?" Mike replied, "C'mon, there's an enormous staircase so we better get going."They were all exhausted by the time they got up there and even Svetlana wasn't in good spirits anymore. "Yo! Those frackin' stairs went on forever!" Vito moaned. "At least we're here now. Now quit whining ya baby!" Chester scolded. "But Vhere iz here?" Svetlana asked. "The hall of the mountain king." Mike breathed.

He recognised the scene from old childhood drawings. A thick purple carpet with a gold trim covered the middle of the marble floor. Giant pillars and statues lined either side and at the end of the carpet was an elevated stage on which sat a massive velvet throne with intricately carved golden patterns on the base and arms. It truly was breathtaking.

"Yo! Check out this bling!" Veto exclaimed, reaching for a piece of expensive looking jewellery. "You know," said a deep, chilling and familiar voice from behind them, "It's rude to touch other people's things without asking." They all whirled around to see Mal lounging carelessly on the throne. "Then leave the body alone an' scram!" Manitoba retaliated. "Oh? And who exactly does the body belong to?"

"Mike, why?"

"Because last I checked you four were spending an awful lot of time in there."

"So?"

"So, if you can do it, why can't I?"

"Because you're a bloody murderer, and worse, Mike took the blame!"

"Well last season you guys weren't exactly boosting his social life either." Manitoba was left without an answer. "Zat iz in past, we help Mike now."Svetlana said firmly. "Mike cares about us very much!" Suddenly Mal let out a terrifying, maniacal laugh. "You think he cares! You're replaceable, you're all replaceable!" Mike's four personas froze and looked at Mal in horror, shocked at the sudden change in demeanour. "He says he cares! He says you're important, but he doesn't mean it! As soon as new playmates appear, you're cast to the side! He... Doesn't... Care... About you... Any... Of... You..." And with that much to their surprise, he broke down crying.

Mal's sobs had always been unusual. They were really quiet, almost undetectable, but usually came with many, many tears, that hadn't changed. Watching the emotional wreck in front of him, Mike realised this. He bent down and put his hand on his shoulder. It was a light touch, but Mal didn't shrug it off. Instead he leaned into the touch. After what felt like hours passed, Mal was steady enough to mutter, "Why? It was good when it was just the two of us, why did you need more? Wasn't I enough?" The other personalities weren't doing anything, they were to astounded by what was unfolding in front of them, first Mal's emotional breakdown, then the crying and now they were discovering that all this time, hd wasn't naturally evil or malevolent, but jealous! And one day he'd just snapped. "I'll be good okay, please, just don't leave me alone again!" Mike replied softly, "I'm so sorry Mal, of course I won't leave you alone, that was my mistake." "Promise?" Mike's heart nearly broke upon hearing those words. So child like, so innocent, so unfitting of Mal ever since he murdered to try capture Mike's attention. "Promise" Mike said. Mal let out a content sigh and visibly relaxed, before shooting up and saying (rather randomly) "Underwater!"

"Hmm?"

"The body's underwater!"

"What?" Mike roared, he quickly got to his feet and looked at Mal, "I've gotta go." And vanished. Mal smiled, this was much, much better.


	2. Trivia

**Disclaimer: I don't own TDAS**

2: Trivia

**Edit: I just rewatched the series and realised Mal can in fact swim. Please don't point it out. Let's just say that in my little universe, he can't.**

Mike was happy to have the old Mal back. The others were shocked by the way he was so much nicer now that the problem had been dealt with. They had soon learned that there was more to Mal that met the eye. These were some of the things they had discovered about their newly accepted brother.

1\. Vito had been wandering the mansion where they all lived in the mind, and had stumbled across Mal's area(they all had designated areas). Curious, he had walked in. It was a copy of the hall back in Mal's tower, the hall of the mountain king, Mike had called it. He had decided to have a little fun. The room really was grand. Just what the one and only Vito deserved, right?

He sauntered down the thick carpet and eventually found himself taking off his shoes to enjoy the pleasant sensation of the rug beneath his feet. He strutted up to the throne and found that there was a jewelled crown in a hidden compartment. Wow, he really thought of everything. He placed the crown on his head and looked at himself in the mirror that had somehow appeared, he looked good! He plonked down on the throne and put his feet out. The throne was very comfortable and he found himself dosing off, or at least he was, until... "Vito?" Came Mike's voice from the door. "What are you doing in here? Get out!" Mike's voice was a hushed whisper and he kept glancing over his shoulder like he was being chased. "Mal will be furious!" Vito almost groaned. "Go 'way." He grunted. Mike looked worried but left the stubborn persona. Vito rolled over and fell asleep on the glorified chair.

When he awoke there was a looming shadow hovering over him. He would have shoved it away if he hadn't been so nervous. "M-m-ma..." "Hello." Mal purred dangerously. "What are you doing here?" Vito stammered desperately, "Ah, er... But, um..." "Get out." Mal said softly, the tone sent shivers down his spine. "NOW!" He yelled when Vito didn't move. He scrambled off the throne, sprinted the hall and slammed the door behind him. No way was he doing that again.

The lesson: Mal is really, really protective about his things

2.

"C'mon ya gumby!" Manitoba yelled from the pool of the mansion. "What're ya so afraid of?" "I'm not afraid!" Mal protested, "I just don't want to!" Manitoba took a second to applaud Svetlana who had triple flipped off the diving board before turning back to Mal. "C'mon mate! I wan'ta get ya in the water before Mike gets back!" Mike, who was of course controlling the body, was absent, unfortunately that left Mal without backup.

Manitoba then nodded to something behind him and he felt himself being pushed, hard. Mal physically screamed as he hit the water, pure terror building up inside him. He hated this, this weakness. Mike had promised to teach him, but then the others had turned up, and Mike had slowly drifted away. He had never got round to teaching Mal... To swim... He clawed uselessly at the water as he tried to pull himself out, but to no avail. His vision went blurry and he stopped struggling, allowing the water to hold him as he drifted into unconsciousness.

Manitoba and Vito both laughed as the italian(?) pushed him in. However, as Mal hit the water he let out a terrified screech and Manny stopped laughing. He called over to Vito and peered into the water. A thrill of panic traveled up his spine as he realised that Mal wasn't coming up. Just then, Mike arrived. He took one look at the scene and let out a cry of panic before diving into the water just as Mal stopped moving.

Mike walked out back to the pool, the others had left a note saying that they would be there. That was odd however, considering... An earsplitting scream pierced the air and Mike picked up the pace. When he got to the pool, he saw Manitoba and Svetlana in the water, Vito out of it and, most worryingly, Mal under it.

Letting out a cry of panic he dived into the water, fully clothed, and swam down as fast as he could. Mal lay motionless under the water, Mike quickly pulled his brother to the surface. As soon as they broke the surface Mal started gasping for the air he desperately needed. Manitoba and Vito watched in horror as they realised what they had almost done. Next time Mal didn't want to do something, they would listen.

The lesson: Mal can't swim.

**Authors note: Hi! Please leave a review to tell me what you think! Requests would be greatly appreciated! If you guys want I can do another one of these random trivia things on any character. As I'm sure you guessed by now, Mal and Mike are my faves! XD**


	3. Jumble

**Disclaimer: I don't own TDAS, if I did, Mal would have won, gotten his tower overlooking that volcano and taken over the world.**

**Author's note: This is because I'm writing the next chapter and its getting tricky. There are only a few things I wanna say.**

**1: The next chapter will contain, (Drumroll please) ANGST! Just a warning, I know that everyone's tastes are a little different.**

**2: A great big shout out to Animetoon19, thanks for being so supportive!**

3: Jumble, a jumble of random drabbles that has Mike addressing and categorising his personalities.

1\. Elements

Mike knew his personas, they were the elements that made him what he was.

He was water, patient and flexible to any situation.

Svetlana is air, flamboyant, flighty and graceful. Like a bird, she had freedom and treated it like a treasure.

Vito is metal, looks cold, but is useful and strong when you need him.

Chester is nature, old, ancient and wise. Always ready to share his wisdom.

Manitoba is earth, strong and durable, would stand firm in the darkest of times.

But Mal, Mal is different. Mal is fire. He brings light and warmth, but he also brings destruction and danger. That was the mistake he made. He forgot to watch the fire and it grew into a raging inferno, and nothing brings more destruction, than a blaze left to burn.

2\. Flaws

All Mike's personalities have their flaws.

Vito is rambunctious and violent. Quick to lash out and never in a hurry to apologise.

Svetlana is impatient. Although sweet, if you slow her down she can be cruel and cold.

Manitoba is sexist. He needed to learn that sometimes girls can be just as capable (if not more so) than boys.

Chester can be very rude. He complains and moans and yells at anyone who annoys him.

Mike himself is weak. Weak against people, weak against the others, weak against anything really.

Mal is easily hurt. Mentally anyway, and he is always reluctant to tell anyone, so he is always carrying a burden he should have been able to share.

3\. Idiocy

Sometimes Mike was pretty sure Vito had a death wish. He would take on huge jocks over three times his size, he would challenge the others to challenges and then push himself to dangerous heights to win and he continues to press his brother's buttons. (Not Svet's, he had a soft spot for her.) Now, in the past, that last one wasn't really an issue. Manny and Mike would good-naturedly growl then tell him to shove off. Chester didn't really mind, Vito never really went to far with him. However, now that Mal was living in the house Vito thought he could annoy him too. Not a good idea.

One would expect Vito would have learned when Mal had found him in his room. Sadly, this was not the case. One time he had been poking Mal constantly as he was trying to play a rather violent (and graphic) video game. Mal had ignored him for as long as possible, knowing that he was on thin ice with the others for the whole 'All Stars' thing. However, that only encouraged his younger(?)* brother as he persisted even harder than before. "Stop that." Mal growled, his deep voice magnifying the menacing effect greatly. "Stop what bro..." He trailed off at the look of pure DEATH on his brother's face.

Vito squeaked a little as he scampered away to hide behind Manitoba, who had been watching the scene with interest. (and admiration at how long Mal had been holding up) Mike walked in not a moment later and took in the scene, from his best friend/brother giving the Italian his infamous 'death glare' to his gutsy brother cowering behind the Australian. The only thing he could manage to say was, "Vito, you're an idiot."

*** I know there are lots of ways to determine the ages but I do it by creation order with the exception of Chester, who is a special case. The order is:**

**1\. Chester**

**2\. Mike**

**3\. Mal**

**4\. Manitoba**

**5\. Vito**

**6\. Svetlana**


	4. Recovery

**Disclaimer: I don't own TDAS.**

**Hey all! It's time for some good old fashioned angst! This is a requested carry on of 'Mal Can't Swim'. Big old shout out to Animetoonz19 who also has a series of one shots just like this one, you guys should check it out! Anyway, onto the story...**

4: Recovery

When we left off...

When he got to the pool, he saw Manitoba and Svetlana in the water, Vito out of it and, most worryingly, Mal under it. Letting out a cry of panic he dived into the water, fully clothed, and swam down as fast as he could. Mal lay motionless under the water, Mike quickly pulled his brother to the surface.

Now to the story.

Vito and Manitoba watched as Mike dragged his unconscious brother to the surface, Mal coughed weakly and gasped for air. But his eyes remained closed and he was spewing up nothing but water. Although he was out of the pool, Manny knew that secondary drowning* was still a possibility. "Bro?" Vito asked, sentiment and worry evident in his voice. Mal continued to hack up water until he seemed to run out of energy and went limp.

"What happened?" The two boys almost shivered at ths cold edge to Mike's voice. They would have expected this tone from some of the other personalities, Svet, maybe. Vito, yeah. Mal, definitely. But Mike? He must be furious. "Well, ah..." Vito tried to explain but broke off when he saw the look in his brother's eyes. Manny took over, "We... We pushed 'im in." He admitted, "We didn' know... The gumby didn' tell us. Jus' wouldn' get in the water. Assumed 'e was bein' a wuss. Guess 'e was jus' proud, eh?" Mike suddenly acted as if his shoes were the most important and interesting thing in this galaxy. "I was gonna teach him... He started, "But then you guys showed up and I... I forgot."

Vito and Manitoba helped Mike carry his brother up to his room, they were going to set him on the throne** before Mike led them to a room at the end of the hall. It was locked when Manitoba tried it but at Mike's touch it swung open. Inside was very much a goth's room. It was rather unsettling actually. All the walls were black with red paint that looked like it was dripping from the painted cracks, corners and seams. On the farthest wall there was a billboard with countless papers. Blueprints and notes, schematics and drawings, plans and photographs of every size, shape and colour. Some were so new the ink was still wet, some so old they were frayed and yellowed, (how was that even possible when they were only 16!?) There was a bed with a frame painted black and carved like a daemon to look dark and looming. The lights were dim and flickering. The whole room echoed with ominous whispers.

"I dunno 'ow he sleeps in 'ere!" Vito exclaimed nervously, "It's givin' me the creeps!" Mike nodded and said, "Me neither, he's always been like this. I never understood it, but he'll never sleep in a normal environment. I just leave him to it." They laid Mal on the bed and to all (Except Mike's) surprise, the daemon lifted its wings and wrapped them around the unconscious boy*** and the room became alive with terrifying, mutated creatures, crooning in concern for their master.

Manitoba sighed, and turned to Mike. "We really messed up, huh?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, we didn' even give 'im a chance. If we were a little more accepting, the whole domination fiasco may never have happened?" Vito grunted in response, Mike just looked thoughtful. "I dunno," Mike said quietly, "Mal was always territorial, was never very good with changes. But I don't think that you guys were the problem. I was a terrible friend, I went from spending every hour of the day with him to hardly even acknowledging he was there. Like a child discarding an old toy in favour of new ones. When he and I had the fight about the murder****, it had been the first time we had spoken to each other for literally years. I knew he was terrible with change, yet I left him to deal with it on his own. And even then, he still protected me*****. C'mon, let him rest, that door didn't open for you for a reason."

"What about you?" "I'm staying here. There's no way I'm leaving him alone again." Manny smiled and pulled Vito to his feet, giving the pair a glance as they left."

*** Secondary drowning, otherwise known as dry drowning, is getting water in your lungs and drowning on that. Very common after experiences like that.**

**** See chapter 1 for description of the hall, although I'm not sure why you're reading this without having read that one first.**

***** Think how Toothless was protecting Hiccup after the battle with the Red Death in HTTYD**

****** Just to be clear, Mal went to juvie 'cause he killed someone just to get Mike's attention. Nothing else was working. It was a last ditch attempt, if it didn't work he would have given up. He went a little nuts afterwards 'cause he felt quite guilty, but being naughty had worked and gotten him undivided attention. He continued until he was addicted.**

******* Oh, leading up to another chappie!**

**Leave a review to tell me if I should do it!**


	5. We Were Never Alright

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Authors note:**

**Hi, god this took a dark turn. Just a warning, I've bumped this chapter up to an M. Swearing and direct mentions of (Oh dear, the list Is long) Suicide, death, mental disorders, child abuse, drugs, addiction, murder and a whole bunch of other angsty stuff. Now, if anyone asks, YOU WERE WARNED! I hold no responsibility for any discomfort or offence experienced while reading this. The song is The Kids Aren't Alright by The Offspring. I have changed some of the lyrics, but not many. It is my personal belief that Mal ORIGINALLY showed up because Mike lived in a messed up town and Mal was around to keep him safe and blissfully ignorant. I'll say it again, you were warned of the new rating.**

_When we were young the future was so bright, the whole neighbourhood was so alive._

_And every kid on the whole damn street, was gonna make it big and not be beat._

This was what Mike saw. He and his friends would chatter carelessly about the future and other things they didn't understand.

_Now the neighbourhood's cracked and torn, the kids are grown up and their lives are worn._

_How can one little street, swallow so many lives?_

As soon as Mal takes over however, the world takes a different shade. He sees what Mike is to innocent to see. Murder in the alleyways, drug addictions, kids with abusive parents, kids with none at all. Mal protects his brother from this.

_Chances thrown, nothing's free._

_Longing for, what used to be._

_Still it's hard, hard to see._

_Fragile lives, shattered dreams._

Mal used to pity those less fortunate than Mike. Those who's innocence was not so carefully guarded, so viciously protected. That was, until they started picking on his brother, then he lost all sympathy for them.

_She had a chance, yeah she really did._

_Instead she dropped out and had a couple of kids._

_An old friend lives at home cause he's got no job, just plays guitar and smokes a lot of pot._

As they grew into teenagers things grew no better, childhood friends letting their lives take a turn for the worst.

_He committed suicide, the kid next door OD'd and died._

_What the hell is going on?_

_The cruelest dream, reality._

Incident after incident was kept From him as Mal went about as always. It was impressive how thorough he was with those lies, especially since Mal was obviously getting desperate for some attention. Just shrugging it off as errands and little jobs.

_Chances thrown, nothing's free._

_Longing for, what used to be._

_Still it's hard, hard to see._

_Fragile lives, shattered dreams._

_Chances thrown, nothing's free._

_Longing for, what used to be._

_Still it's hard, hard to see._

_Fragile lives, shattered dreams._

The day Mal turned, the day he stopped protecting Mike from the real world, Mike saw his hometown for what it was, this was one month after he got out of juvie.


	6. Author's Note

**Sorry, not a chapter!**

**I got a brand new laptop for my birthday, and it has spell check! Until further notice all stories are on hold.**

**Sorry.**

**IHTHT**


	7. Mal Has A

**Ha, I love this. To get a feel for these two, try Taylor Swift - Blank Space (Pop Rock Cover by Twenty One Two).**

**WARNING: Contains an OC, romance and some disturbing imagery.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TDAS**

Girlfriend!

Mal had himself a honest to goodness (or Badness) _girlfriend!_ Out of all of the personas, Mal had been dating a girl behind their backs! They had found out completely by accident too, that had been awkward for sure.

_The four personas (all minus Mal) were gathered in the main lounge of the mansion. Mal had requested some private time in the body and had left hours ago. Everyone had been okay with it at first, but after the three hour mark, the others had began to get suspicious. Mike did have faith in Mal, but the others were insistent and their examples and arguments had allowed doubt to begin to creep in. Vowing to only peek, he used all of his power to surge to the surface… only to find himself locked in a kiss! There were slender fingers wound through his hair and a slim body in his arms. He pulled away in shock, he had done this with Zoey but this was definitely not Zoey! The girl in front of him had long, golden hair and sharp eyes that were looking at him closely with an intensity that could match Mal's glare par on par._

Vito was sulking who knows where, upset that both Mal and Mike had picked up a girl before he did. There was that brief stint with Anne Maria, but that hadn't really counted. Manitoba had been taken aback at first, but wasn't really all that surprised now he thought about it and Svet had been ecstatic.

_He fled to the mindscape and the others glanced at him for information. They all saw the shocked, slightly panicked expression and all jumped to their own conclusions._

_"__What was he doing?"_

_"__You alrigh' mate?"_

_"__Dija get 'nto a fight?"_

_Once he had recovered enough to follow everyone he sighed and said, "I'm… I'm okay… Just, umm… Wow. Oh jeez, I'm not even sure what I just interrupted."_

_Moments later, Mal stormed up to them and snarled. "What was that?" he demanded, "I asked for time alone didn't I?" Mike stumbled back, trying to both placate and not get beaten by the angry persona._

_"__I'm _**_so_**_ sorry Mal!" He cried, "I was just checking up on you and… it just sort of… happened."_

_Mal slumped over, all earlier rage seemingly gone. "It's fine, Xena was pretty understanding, she's cool like that. It's just, wow… That's like being walked in on by your flatmate."_

_"'__old on, I'm los'" Manatoba interrupted, "'ho's this Xena? What happened?" _

_"__Mike…" Mal started, sending a glare his way, "Reared his head in the middle of me and my girlfriend making out!"_

_"__What!"_

Really, the most surprised out of all of them was Mike. He knew that Mal's "bad boy" personality attracted girls, but they were mostly bimbos who he would never have bothered with, especially not for as long as they had been together.

_"__How could you do that? I have a girlfriend, I can't be seen kissing someone else!" Mike shot at his darker counterpart, Mal only shrugged. _

_"__Vito had Anne Maria, and besides she's been my girl much longer than Zoey's been yours, we've been going out since freshman year."_

_"__What? How did you keep THAT a secret!"_

_"__I have many secrets Mike."_

_"__I know, but still, a GIRLFRIEND!?"_

_Mal said nothing._

Mal didn't know what the others were fussing over, the idea of him having a romance was not that unbelievable. He and Xena were a longstanding couple, if he was going to love her and leave her he would have done it by now and she wasn't the only one playing with fire in the relationship.

_It wasn't the beauty or the money (although she possessed both in droves) it was the danger. She was a ticking time bomb, homosidal then suicidal, crazy while sane, an obsessive pyromaniac that danced on the embers with smoke flying through her hair. _

She was the kind of girl that murdered her ex and then slept beside the corpse. Their first meeting was a perfect example.

_His family had been invited to a stupid ball out of town. His mother was excited to the point of buying a brand new dress and diamond set and his father was wearing his best suit. He was wearing one of his dad's suits after burning his own and he was so, so bored. He would usually send Mike out for such things, but he needed time away from that traitor. The hall was huge, the party he was supposed to be enjoying taking one ballroom of seven. He was three hours into the torture when he heard music coming from another room. Feeling that being a party crasher at another party was better than hanging around at your own stupid one, he head out._

_In ballroom six, he found a girl no older than himself, dancing in the middle of the room, it was to a fast waltz and she was flawlessly keeping up with the music despite the boy she was dancing with being seemingly unconscious on her shoulder. The tables were full, every seat but two occupied with a limp lord or lady in finery, had they all fallen asleep? Spiked punch, Mal assumed. He found himself stepping along to the faster music despite himself and he looked down at his feet in shock. When he looked up, the girl had turned, and was staring at him with intense eyes of and indeterminable colour. _

_"__Want to dance?"_

_The question was so unexpected that he found himself simply staring dumbly. "What?"_

_"__Do you want to dance with me?" She asked again._

_Dumbstruck, he agreed and watched her lug the sleeping boy to his chair, and sat him so he was facing away. Funny he didn't wake up, Mal thought, and why was she dancing with someone unconscious anyway?_

_The song started and he struggled to keep up, he knew how to dace of corse, but it was obvious that this girl was an expert, possibly raised an aristocrat. He found the controlled movements hypnotic and the dance was over all too soon. He stayed for another, and another, and another. The stunning blonde took it all in stride. They talked, they laughed and they danced the night away. He learned her name was Xena and that she was the sole heir of a enormous wealth. She was on her own at the party as her parents were visiting a convention in Brazil and that she had the family mansion to herself until next audience stayed silent and limp the whole time._

_Only when he heard his parents calling did he finally stop the dance. He made to pull away, but Xena grabbed his tie and pulled him forward. She kissed him, properly on the lips and then allowed him to go. He looked back at her only once before leaving._

_The next day, the papers headlines read:_

**_HUNDREDS DEAD AFTER MASS HOMICIDE AT ARISTOCRATIC BALL, KILLER STILL NOT FOUND._**

_The day after that, there was a new transfer in his class from out of town. A girl with eyes of an indeterminable colour._

Yes, Xena was crazy. She was a twisted, insane, beautiful girl.

He loved her for it.


End file.
